Investigation in Guadalajara
An Investigation in Guadalajara was conducted by Maverick in response to rumors of human trafficking linking to a Desperado research lab in Mexico. Prelude At some point in 2018, reports in Mexico indicated that a research lab, rumored to be owned by Desperado, had circulated, especially after toxic waste was dumped in the sewers of Guadalajara. A human rights NGO had been investigating reports of human trafficking and learned that street kids were being taken to a research lab owned by Desperado. Due to the presence of a PMC, the NGO requested Maverick's assistance to investigate further. Maverick, having already taken care of the Abkhazian Coup, deployed Raiden to investigate the lab for any evidence implicating Desperado in the alleged human trafficking activities. Guadalajara Sewers Raiden, upon arriving at the border, purchased a disguise to blend in with the civilians so he wouldn't stick out: apparently not very informed on Mexican culture, he ended up purchasing a mariachi costume. Upon arriving at Guadalajara, Raiden also revealed that he brought Blade Wolf along in order to given the newly reconstructed AI UG a chance, or "throw him a bone" as he put it, Blade Wolf humouring him by commenting that this was "amusing on two levels.". Upon arriving at the insertion point, he entered the sewer system, although not before being spotted by two locals. Witnessing the bizarre sight of a cyborg in half a mariachi costume and a robotic dog climbing into a sewer, the two men agreed it was best to forget they ever saw it. Afterwards, Kevin briefed them about trying to locate the lab in the sewer, and also warned him about locals commenting about "black crocodiles" living in the sewers, which he figured to be some type of UG. Blade Wolf then proceeded to scout ahead of Raiden, also informing Raiden of there being UGs patrolling the area shortly thereafter. Raiden then ended up ambushed by a Mastiff humanoid UG, forcing him to destroy it before it could alert his presence to the other UGs nearby. Afterwards, Blade Wolf reported the presence of catwalks for Raiden to avoid UG patrols if necessary. Afterwards, Raiden entered another area of the sewers before Blade Wolf reported the presence of a boy in the sewers. Fighting his way through numerous Dwarf Gekko, Raiden found the boy being attacked by two Dwarf Gekko. He flung a kunai at one and stabbed the other before finding himself facing off against three Raptor UGs. After defeating them all, the boy came out of hiding and revealed himself to be George, reminding Raiden of his foster father. Having learned that George escaped from the lab, and that the lab intended to remove organs from the kids they captured, Raiden headed for the lab while calling for Maverick agents to pick up George. With a lot of UGs patrolling the sewers as he got closer to the lab, Raiden retrieved a cardboard box to hide from them, with Kevin expressing some surprise. Infiltrating his way through more Mastiffs and Vodomerkas (aka Water Striders), he found the lab entrance that was camouflaged. Research lab A startling find Now inside the lab, Doktor advised Raiden to use a Dwarf Gekko to access the data terminal so that maverick will know what Desperado has been up to. However he had to fight off some Desperado security, prompting Kevin to sarcastically remark that stealth was Raiden's specialty. Afterwards he entered a room that to his shock was full of cyborg brain casings. After fighting off more Desperado security in the same room before entering the brains room, Raiden contacted Maverick about his findings. Although thankfully the cyborgs Raiden encountered were not children due to their telltale approach to combat, he was still unnerved that Desperado was trafficking children for their own purposes as well as for profit. Raiden next found a Dwarf Gekko and had it reprogrammed for him to control. Avoiding the cyborgs, or otherwise sneaking up from behind and shocking them, Raiden controlled it to a data terminal that would otherwise have been out of reach for him. Hacking into the system, Doktor found a video from one of the sentries with a Desperado exec on site yesterday. The video showed Sundowner as well as a man in a suit talking with the chief scientist about the children's VR training program. Sundowner noted that it was the same one that "ol' Georgy-boy" used on the kids in Liberia and that they need to ship the brains out before Desperado's cover was blown. The scientist objected that each brain has their own characteristics and the procedure is not quite simple. The man in the suit relented but ordered what they had shipped out, the lab be destroyed and the children not yet processed disposed of. He also mentioned that Accounting would be in touch with the scientist regarding payment. As the man and Sundowner left the lab, he also mentioned that Tecumseh was very demanding and that America suffered long enough. When the video ended Raiden relayed everything to Maverick so they can inform their NGO client what was happening. He also had Kevin find out who the man in the suit was, who seemed familiar to Kevin. In the meantime Raiden headed off to rescue the children that were not yet operated on. Desperado's backers identified However there was more bad news to come. Courtney called Raiden to inform him that George was nowhere to be found. Hoping that Desperado had not gotten to him first, Raiden proceeded further but found a Grad UG blocking the way. After a fierce fight the Grad was destroyed. Kevin later called him and said the man in the suit was Colorado Senator Steven Armstrong, a presidential candidate for the 2020 elections who was once investigated by a grand jury for being tied to World Marshal Inc., the largest PMC on the planet after the splintering of the Big Five. It was also found that World Marshal had the largest R&D in cyborg development, which explained where Desperado got their cyborgs from. When Raiden proposed making the story of Marshal and Desperado in bed together go public, Kevin and Boris did not agree, stating that World Marshal had heavy influence over the media and that legally challenging them would be suicide. Saving the children: Return of the Ripper Raiden fought his way through the three cyborg sentries to the lab. Once inside he found some machines which Doktor explained were large cryopreservers suitably for temporarily preserving organs or body parts. In another room he found the children behind a glass barrier. It was then that the chief scientist confronted Raiden holding George hostage at gunpoint. At the same time chloroform gas seeped into the lab room where the children were held. The scientist gave Raiden a choice to surrender, or choose to save either the children or George. George however implored Raiden to forget about him and take out the both of them. Raiden, enraged at the scientist's demeanor, asked George if he was sure. When George affirmed his statement, Raiden walks towards the scientist. In the latter's fear, George temporarily overpowered him and Raiden killed him, cutting through George's body to do so. Aftermath Raiden later implored Doktor to save George (who was implied to have been saved by being placed in one of the cryopreservers in the adjoining room), while also taking care of the other children as well as the brains that already commenced their VR training because the human rights NGO could not care for them all. In the meantime, Maverick could not take a direct or legal action against World Marshal, who had too much media, political and military influence in the U.S. This ultimately resulted in Raiden deciding to take matters into his own hands by going to confront World Marshall personally alongside Blade Wolf, also abruptly resigning from Maverick to ensure they can't stop him. Behind the scenes This event was first hinted at in the version of the E3 2012 trailer that featured Bladewolf at the end, where it showed Raiden and Bladewolf (the latter of whom was clearly shown in that scene to be allied with him) walking down a tunnel. Although similar to the final version, there were a few differences between it and the trailer: *The tunnel in the trailer was significantly darker than in the final version with a light at the end of the tunnel. *The trailer also made it seem as though Kevin and Raiden's conversation about whether it was advisable to bring the Bladewolf along was during their trek into the tunnel, while in the actual game, said conversation occurred before they even arrived at the sewer entrance. Category:Events